OUR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

We are proud to tell you about the way we work.

Sustainable meals are a social responsibility – from purchase to disposal, smart transporting, minimum use of disposable packaging and secure employment for our co-workers. Food that is not consumed during a working day is donated to those in need.

Sustainable meals are a social responsibility!

We achieve our company values for a sustainable meal experience through consistently committing to:

Sustainable basic commodities

Environmentally friendly hygiene & cleaning products

Smart purchasing, waste recycling, minimizing transports

Secure employment for our co-workers

POLICY

When purchasing raw materials, as often as possible we choose organic, locally-sourced, seasonal and fair trade produce.:

Working to continuously improve our environmental work and efforts to prevent pollution.

SVENSK MILJÖBAS

Awarded Environmental Diploma – in according with Svensk Miljöbas.

To be awarded an Environmental Diploma involves implementing an environmental management system that meets the requirements given by the national criteria standard Svensk Miljöbas. The environmental management system gives you the tools to structure your environmental work and minimize environmental workload.

Environmental work can strengthen a business trademark, make marketing easier and contribute to a stronger market competitor. With a Svensk Miljöbas Environmental Diploma you are able to market your business environmental work to the whole of Sweden.

The way to achieve an Environmental Diploma includes:

Mapping out business environmental influence or effect

Planning and carrying out environmental improvements

Training and educating co-workers

Following up and improving environmental work

The Svensk Miljöbas Environmental Management System is built on the core elements of ISO 14001 and EMAS. In comparison to ISO 14001/EMAS, less documentation, deviation handling and fewer routines are required. Svensk Miljöbas places great importance on how a business performs in environmental improvement/development and in educating/training its staff.

THE GREEN MEETING

Environmental Diploma for Conference and Banqueting.

We have been awarded an Environmental Diploma for our Conference and Banqueting Department. The Environmental administration helps you with what prerequisites are required to environmentally adapt your banquet or event. If the need arises we have a pre-con with the event organizer. Thereafter you have a checklist to work with, ensuring your event meets the requirements and nothing what measures will need to be taken. From the documentation submitted an assessment is made of whether any further course of action is required before a diploma is issued. During the event itself an environmental officer is on site for an audit and the results of the audit are then reported.

SUSTAINABLE BASIC COMMODITIES

COFFEE

We serve Rainforest Alliance-certified and organic coffee in all our cafes and restaurants, during all conferences and events, as well as in our catering departments.

EGG

Chickens that produce organic eggs, move freely in large chicken pens. The population of these pens is a little lower than free range chickens; max 6 chickens per square metre of open area. Chickens have straw on the floor and access to perches of different heights and nests to lay their eggs in. At least a third of the floor area is covered with straw. Chickens can go outside to grass areas when the weather allows. At least 95% of their feed is organically cultivated. Read more about organic eggs at: www.krav.se.

GRAIN

Yields of organic grain are approximately 30%-50% lower compared to a conventional harvest. Rye and mixed grain (oat and barley) do best in comparison, while autumn wheat and autumn rye have the worst results. The differences between yield levels of grain are larger on level open fields and fewer in woodland areas.

FRUIT

We only use organically grown apples, grapes and bananas.

GRAPES

Grapes can contain a residue from many chemical pesticides. In an EU spot check a packet of grapes contained 26 different kinds of pesticides. Choose raisins and wine that are organic too.

APPLES

Organically grown apples are not treated with unnatural chemical pesticides. In 2010, the Health and Safety Department carried out 149 spot checks on apples, 87% contained measurable residues of pesticides and 41 different kinds of pesticides were detected on apples.

BANANAS

Half of the chemicals in the pesticides bananas are sprayed with are found in the edible part of the banana itself. On conventional banana plantations, half the workers suffer from nerve damage and are sterile because of the chemical pesticides used.

Organic bananas are cultivated without damaging pesticides

Cultivation contributes to a cleaner watercourse and supports a biological variety

Organic cultivation does not damage the health of workers

On an organic plantation it is forbidden to use childlabour or forced labour

DAIRY PRODUCTS FROM WAPNÖ

Wapnö focuses on environmental work!

Wapnö works with an environmental system which encourages the robustness of woodland and farming fields and in turn develops a variety of nature. Wapnö has for many years actively taken part in the global environmental system, continuously improving thanks to an early environmental certification that has constantly increased our knowledge and know-how in the company.

Wapnö recently invested in the most environmental and energy effective biogas facility where decaying animal fertilizer gives them gas that in turn they convert into electricity, warmth and refrigeration making the purchase of electricity and oil minimal. In the next three years, the biogas facility will be running at full capacity which will minimize our purchase of energy by 70% to 80 %. Through this large investment in biogas, we see Wapnö taking a large step into the future and our consumers affecting the global and local environment very positively by choosing produce from them.

Wapnö allows for produce with a very low environmental impact. Locally grown® and Locally produced® strengthen both the environment and quality.

HYGIENE AND CLEANING PRODUCTS

When purchasing chemicals, we choose environmentally friendly products. If a product cannot be found as an environmentally friendly alternative, we then choose the least harmful one for the environment. Health and safety data sheets for all chemical products used are easily accessible in close proximity to where respective chemicals are stored.

PURCHASING

A selection of products is always organic and/or fair-trade marked. Organic and fair-trade products are always chosen as long as it is economically and practically viable.

WASTE AND RECYCLING

To reduce our waste, many of our food products are delivered in returnable packaging instead of styrofoam packaging. Examples of these are fresh fish and vegetables. We have a well functioning waste management system and recycle or reuse as much waste created by our operation as possible.

COMPOSTING

We compost all our food waste from our kitchens and cafés. Food waste is ground down by our three food grinders which are found in our kitchens and is stored in two tanks found in the basement of our premises; this is then transported to a bioenergy facility. The emptying of our tanks is taken care of by the Recycling Office (Kretsloppskontoret). Our food waste is sent to Härryda and made into biogas.

THE CURRENT GLOBAL PICTURE

Modern agricultural systems are cause to multiple environmental problems from local to global scale, such as deforestation, loss of habitat, biodiversity and other ecosystem services, soil erosion, disruption of nutrient cycles and emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHG). About a quarter of mankind´s worldwide GHG emissions stem from the agriculture, forestry and land-use sector.

However, when it comes to emissions, there are large differences between food products and their origin. The livestock sector alone is responsible for 14,5% of all global GHG emissions.[1] This means almost two thirds and hence the majority of all agricultural emissions results from the production of animal-based products like meat, egg and dairy.

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Meat and dairy products from cattle are the largest GHG emitters. This is for two reasons: firstly, meat and dairy have a very low energy conversion efficiency, due to large areas of land required for growing feed used in raising livestock. The second factor is the way cattle digest their feed. Like buffalo, sheep and goats, cattle are ruminant animals; when chewing and fermenting their feed some of the carbon is converted into methane, CH4, which is released to the atmosphere. CH4 is a (34 times) more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide CO2.

THE GLOBAL FUTURE

Climate change and the cuts in emissions required to limit global average temperature increase to below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels, as agreed by 195 nations at the UNFCCC Climate Conference in Paris in December 2015[2], poses a major challenge to all economic sectors. While GHG emissions have to be reduced, the livestock sector is at the same time facing a significant rise in demand, due to the growing world population and increasing wealth.

Recently published research points out that it will not be enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in the energy system [3]. Thus, it is imperative to also reduce emissions of nitrous oxide and methane from agriculture. Increased productivity, technological advancements and reduced food wastage contribute to emission reductions, however, it will also require dietary changes, for example in the form of reduced consumption of beef and dairy products [3].

THE SWEDISH CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE

From the perspective of an individual living in Sweden, on average one quarter of emissions which are directly or indirectly caused by private consumption stem from food [4].

Over the course of one year, this equals approximately 1.8 tonnes of CO2-eq, of which 38 % are from ruminant meat and 23% from dairy products [4]. Comparing this to people´s energy and protein consumption, however, only small shares are covered by beef and dairy respectively, as shown in the following graph.

In total every Swede emits an average of about 7.2 tonnes CO2-eq per year [4]. Note that this is private consumption only, and does not include emissions from the public sector.

THE CARBON FOOTPRINT LABEL

Being aware of the climate issues related to food, we decided to assess the carbon footprints of meals on campus. Starting in our biggest restaurant, Karrestaurangen at Johanneberg Campus, we introduced carbon labeling to the menus. It is a way for us to learn, and at the same time an opportunity to share information about the food’s climate impact with our guests. The traffic-light-colored bars shall allow easy distinction between low and high footprints and comparison among the different dishes.

The values to the right of the colored bars express the approximate amount of greenhouse gases emitted per serving.

HOW IS THIS VALUE CALCULATED?

Our chefs know how much of each ingredient they use to prepare your lunch. These ingredients are listed in different product groups. For each product group, the respective quantities are combined with scientific data on life cycle emissions, adding up to the footprint per dish.

WHAT DOES THE FOOTPRINT INCLUDE AND WHAT NOT?

The resolution of available data from life cycle assessments is limited due to the complexity of the method. The data underlying this label is therefore aggregated to average emission values for groups of food products consumed in Sweden. For example, one kilogram of pasta sold in Sweden has an average footprint of 0.6 kg CO2 [3]. Distinctions between different producers and product types like whole grain pasta, conventional or organic are not made. The footprint includes direct emissions resulting from the consecutive production stages along the supply chain. Additionally, indirect emissions related to these processes are included, such as fertilizer production or power generation. Both, direct and indirect emissions are expressed in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq), that is both, CO2 itself, but also other climate relevant gases, like methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Not included in the footprint label, due to their minor contribution, are life cycle stages at the sales level, such as transportation to our restaurant, preparation of the food and management of food waste.

HOW MUCH IS 1 KG OF CO2 EQUIVALENT?

The traffic- light colors from green (low emissions) to red (high emissions) and the length of bars according to the footprint indicate what is a relatively better or worse choice for the climate. In absolute terms, however, the emission values may be harder to interpret. How much is a lot or a little and how does this compare to other emission sources in our life? Food products are not commonly associated with emissions, such as driving a car, i.e. car-emissions seem to be much more concrete than emissions from production processes with many steps. So how many kilometers could you drive, causing an equal amount of emissions as your lunch? We calculated some examples below:

How were the emissions translated into car kilometers? Assuming specific emissions of 130g/km under test conditions (according to the New European Driving Cycle EU target for new cars in 2015) plus 31% to compensate for real world driving conditions[5] and another 17% for well-to-wheel fuel life cycle emissions[6], gives roughly 200 g CO2-eq per km driven.